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San Diegans travel to Israel virtually with Jewish National Fund USA

The Jewish National Fund USA (JNF), just launched virtual tours, taking people to Israel and showing them iconic places.

Author: Stella Escobedo

Published: 10:05 AM PDT May 12, 2020

Updated: 10:05 AM PDT May 12, 2020

SAN DIEGO — Since the stay-at-home orders have been put in place so many of us have canceled our travel plans, domestically and internationally.

In fact, according to the World Tourism Organization, international tourism could decline by 60-80% over the entire year and that means billions of dollars in lost revenue. However, some San Diegans are finding different ways to travel.

The Jewish National Fund USA (JNF), just launched virtual tours, taking people to Israel and showing them iconic places like the Old City of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and much more.

Here's how it works

People buy seats on virtual buses, they have a professional tour guide all via Zoom. Just last week, a San Diego group finished their five-day virtual trip. JNF board member, Lauren Lizerbram, and her husband Sol, who is the national president of JNF, experienced the virtual trip.

"It's really really a fun, exciting, emotional, motivating trip. It was a fabulous idea. It really took off beyond our wildest expectations and, like I said, we have over 700 people signed up. We really want to support these licensed tour guides in Israel," said Lizerbram.

The five-day experience is $50. All of the money goes to the tour guides in Israel who aren't working right now. The virtual tours are an hour a day. Seven hundred people have already registered.

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